No title yet, sorry
by Mizura
Summary: Ehe, well I just wanted to try an Ash/Rena story, since there aren't that many out there..
1. Prologue

_Disclaimers_: Um, lemme see..none of the So2 charas are mine, cuz they're copyrighted by their rightfull owners. ^.^ I saw a lack of Ashton+Rena ficcies out here, so thought might as well try it..ehehe, I tried to stop myself from fully bashing Claude, but don't blame me if it seems like his character's shallow in here..(Yes, I do not like Claude.^.^;;; Don't flame me for that.) Anyway, on to the story!****

**Prologue****__**

_It's been two years since he's left and three since I've last seen the others. The Ten Wise Men were defeated then and Nede vanished without a trace. Claude, I recall, left with Precis back to his home planet Earth. Noel and Chisato set off to learn more about Expel. The later said something about going into publishing books rather than journalism as well. Celine disappeared to go back to her treasure hunting and Leon went back to his castle--I haven't heard from either since. I tried my best to persuade Dias to stay in Arlia but he refused, saying that his mere presence would endanger the place. He promised me he'd return soon though, since I guess I kind of forced him to--I wouldn't let him leave again without saying so. I wonder if he remembers..or even really cares.___

_On the other hand I managed to persuade Ashton to stay in Arlia with me instead. To tell the truth, I felt a little bad for him because of Precis' leave. It seemed that his only true interest lay in her rather than the rest of us, and since she was going with Claude..I thought he might be lonely. First of all, it was possibly my fault that Claude was leaving in the first place. He made it seem like he was overly interested in going back to his mother to comfort her about his father's death, but both of us did become rather distant after "those events" occurred. Or more like I kept my distance, and he didn't force his way closer to me. The others I'm sure noticed the change as well.___

_Truthfully I thought I was in love with Claude for a long while myself. But as the days went on, the feeling I recognized was the same as my feelings for Dias--a love as in sibling love, and not quite romance love. If anything more, I considered Claude as my best friend. Sure I got along well enough with the others in the group, but Claude I felt was my closest and dearest friend. The day when everyone decided to go their own separate ways, Claude asked me to go to Earth with him. He confessed his love..I turned him down. I had to. I had my own worries and my own mother whom I couldn't leave just yet.___

_Still I don't regret, even up to today. I think I didn't want to be alone with him for much longer either. I don't think I could ever quite return his feelings, at least not as strongly as him--and I didn't want him to get hurt further. I met up with Precis seconds after I left Claude and found that she had been listening in. Not that she told me, but the look on her face was proof enough. She didn't look angry, she just gave me a sad expression, then said, "Well, you've just lost your chance..." and ran off toward where I had left him. I found out an hour later that Precis had somehow convinced Claude that she should go with him. I guess she was interested in the machinery Earth had to offer..but even I know that that of course wasn't her only reason. I wasn't dumb enough not to have noticed her feelings toward him as well. Then again, she had always considered me a rival when it came to Claude. Though most of the time it seemed as though her love for Claude was just a simple childish crush, I know that she truly meant it. She was much more grown up than everyone else believed her to be.___

_Ashton took a while to talk into staying in Arlia. However much it _seemed_ he was used to his two dragons, he felt that they made him stand out too much and wanted to be rid of them. He told me at first that he didn't want to cause me trouble by staying at my village and sticking out. I tried my best to convince him that everything would be okay, and he seemed to believe me enough..he didn't stand out in the very least, and he seemed really happy to me here.. but after a year of staying, he simply told me that he would go and travel to search for a way to release his curse. I offered to go with him but he refused, saying that the village still had people who needed me. "Thank you for everything, Rena," he said, "But I don't think I can stay here any longer. I...guess I won't be seeing you for a while--I might never see you again. ...take care."___

_He didn't promise me he'd return.. more likely, that would be the last I see of him. No matter what I said, his heart was set. He wouldn't listen to anything more. The first year he was away, I of course felt sad and missed his presence and worried about him, but after the second year I think I'm starting to understand what it all meant.___

_I think I am in love--though it is too late to say now. He meant more to me than everyone else and I just never noticed.. He was more than Dias, who was like my dear older brother, and more than Claude, who was my best friend. But he's gone--been gone for two years exactly now. I can't even search for him because he left me no clue as to where he went, and I still have my mother to take care of. The more he's absent, the more I think I feel for him. I love him.. but it hurts.. because I'll probably never see him again.._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Rena Lanford put down her pen, looked at the paper she was scribbling on, and sighed. She knew that she couldn't travel far, for her mother had become sickly a few months after Ashton's leave, and Rena had been trying to treat her since. Westa's condition was critical, Rena had overheard, and incurable with any normal healing technique. Rena's healing ability would not help either. She knew it already, that it wasn't an outside wound. She could cure many outside wounds easily, but none inner. She was unable to cure any disease besides poisoning. She also couldn't resurrect the dead, if it was their time. Sometimes she wished that she was free from her powers of healing, knowing the limits that she had, but she was too kind-hearted to abandon her duties as a healer now. She just regretted those limits, and how she was helpless when it came to certain things as well. She was no god, and she had plenty of weaknesses. Even when it came down to her healing magic. 

The young woman was twenty now, and Westa had often told her to "settle down in a household" when Rena took food and beverages to her. Rena would simply shake her head with a sad smile and reply, "I haven't found anyone special to me yet." She couldn't help but wonder about the others at times, but tried to keep those thought as few as possible. It was useless to dwell on the past, that much she knew. 

Westa was temporarily housed in the mayor's house, which left her house empty for Rena's own use. She couldn't help but feel lonely at times, figuring that the two little children she used to tell stories to weren't so little anymore and so went out adventuring now. She barely had a chance to travel out of the village, and Salva was the furthest she would ever go. Sometimes, she would think to venture into the Salva Drift, but was always stopped by a guard or two, who wished her no harm by going in. She would never force her way in, and knew it would be pointless anyway. No one ventured into the mine anymore, unless they were odd travelers, like Claude had been before. 

The couple across the area already had three children, who were always upstairs. Other than that, there was little change in the village of Arlia. 

It was raining outside. The young woman halfheartedly gathered a box of food and a drink to take to her mother in the mayor's house. Once she arrived, she found her mother sitting on a couch, flipping through a newspaper. 

"Mother!" Rena scolded, "You shouldn't be out of bed!" 

Westa sent her a smile, "Don't worry about me, I'm feeling exceptionally well today." 

Rena set down her mother's food and drink, and watched as her mother warily began to eat. "Where is the mayor today?" 

"Oh, the mayor said that he'd be out for the next three or four days." 

Rena pouted a little. "I was planning on giving him some of the lunch too.." 

"Leave it in the fridge." 

Rena nodded silently. 

"It's surprisingly raining isn't it?" Westa continued. Rena nodded again. "You know," her mother finally said, "You don't look too happy. You should go home and take a nap or something. It must be the change of weather. I'll be fine by myself." 

Rena couldn't help but smile. "You should be the one taking a nap, mother.. but thank you, I think I actually will go and rest a while." she excused herself from the house and returned to her own. 

She locked her door and plopped herself down on one of the kitchen chairs. She wasn't tired, just not too energetic. She recalled the note she had scribbled earlier and sighed. If only she could get a hold of one of the others, she would feel better--but no. They all had their own lives to live, and they didn't need old acquaintances pestering them. Unlike what she had written earlier, sometimes she wished she had gone with Claude. Maybe she could have eventually come to love him as he had loved her. She shook her head, remembering Westa. Her mother was very important to her, so she couldn't just leave her there. Of course, if she had gone to Earth, she would have taken Westa as well.. she giggled as she imagined how Claude would have handled that. She sighed, figuring that it was much better to be the one who is loved rather than loving. She probably would have kept reminiscing had it not been for a noise at the front door. Somebody was knocking, rather impatiently. 

"Coming!" she called out, half expecting her mother at the door. By the time that she got to it, she was ready with a few scolding words about not to go outside when it was cold, but when she opened it, she found a complete stranger at the footsteps, completely drenched in rain. She shut her mouth before she could blurt out her thoughts. 

"Excuse me," the stranger's voice was slightly gruff, low enough to confirm it belong to a man, "I need a place to stay for the night... I know this is sudden, but I couldn't find a place quick enough, and I'm soaked...there's no hotels here either. I first lay an eye on this house in hopes for a place to rest." 

Rena simply blinked confusion. 

"You see, I am a traveler," he continued hurriedly, "My name is Razp--" 

The young woman ushered him in and shut the door. "More importantly," she said, "I'll get you a towel to dry off. You must be cold." 

Before he could say a word of thanks, Rena was already in the other room. She returned with a bath towel, apologizing that she only had one that was usable. Razp merely shook his head and smiled. Taking a closer look at him, she couldn't help but think that he wasn't such a bad looking guy. He at least seemed friendly too. He ventured to ask where the shower was, and promptly disappeared to take one. Rena sat back down in the kitchen chair, wondering why this man ended up at her house. He was a traveler, she recalled, and decided to ask about his journeys. Maybe he had seen Ash-- Rena shook her head. It was too late to worry about the warrior. She should be worrying about other things. She couldn't help but wonder if he had felt the same way as her. If he did, surely he would return.. wouldn't he? Then again, it had already been too long to hope.. Rena was too involved in her thoughts to hear the door open. 

"Ah, that felt good." 

She heard that comment though, and startled, whirled around to find Razp standing at the doorway. He was wearing the towel and nothing more. 

Rena immediately turned red. "W-w-w-w-what happened to your clothes?!" 

The young traveler chuckled. "Well they were all wet so I left them to dry. Hope you don't mind." 

She couldn't think of anything to say and so simply shook her head. He was built fairly well, she couldn't help but notice, and had longish brown hair, between the lengths of Dias and Ashton. He had violet tinged eyes and a half-smile stuck permanently on his face. She narrowed her eyes. A traveler shouldn't be built like so--but a warrior on the other hand... 

"Would you like a drink?" she found herself asking. 

"Ah, thanks." 

She pulled out a drink from the refrigerator and handed it to him, taking careful notice of his hands. Sure enough they were slightly calloused. 

"I wouldn't think a traveler should have use for weaponry.." 

"It's a dangerous world out there, Missy," he said, sending her a wink, "Even us travelers need protection. Hey, come to think of it, so do villagers. You living here alone? No male-friend to protect you?" 

Rena felt her face burn again, both at the thought she had been too suspicious of the man and at his comment, "I.. used to.. two years ago I had someone living with me but he left to travel.. too. And I'm fine.. perfectly capable of taking care of myself." 

"Hope so. Sad that a pretty gal like you ain't settled yet. Heh, wish I wasn't a traveler or I'd set out to take you myself." 

She blushed a third time, thinking in her mind that she wouldn't have minded too much. "Whenever you're tired, let me know. I have a spare bed upstairs." 

"I'll never tire of your face... and are you sure I need to use the spare bed? No sharing tonight?" he teased, standing up. She had barely noticed when he had sat in the first place. "Actually I'm rather tired... I'm ready for bed." 

~~~ 

The next morning, Razp was up earlier than Rena, and she was surprised to find him in the kitchen, helping himself to a drink. He raised his cup when he spotted her. "Good morning. I was thirsty so I grabbed myself a drink. Hope you don't mind." 

"Oh, not at all." she said, giving him a worried glance, "But are you alright? You could have rested a little longer. Are your clothes dry? I wouldn't want you to catch a cold.." 

"Aw I'm used to early mornings, all travelers are. You want a drink?" 

"That's okay." 

"Alrighty." Razp sipped at his cup for a while and then nodded. "I understand perfectly now... and I approve." 

"Huh?" Rena blurted out. 

"Oh nothing, nothing at all. Oh, come to think of it, here," he said, pulling out a half-folded paper. "I got it a few minutes ago from someone outside." 

"Someone outside?" 

"Oh yeah. Some kid, said something 'bout a traveler type person like me gave it to 'em." Razp chuckled, "The kid thought I was related to you." 

"Oh.." Rena's eyes lowered, "Must have been embarrassing for you." 

"Naah not at all. Told 'em I was your boyfriend instead." 

"You what!?" Rena demanded, her eyes wide. 

Razp simply began to laugh. 

"That's not very funny.." 

"Kidding, just kidding. Nice to know that even you get angry. Well, I'd better be on my way. I've delayed too long already." he stood, bowing his head. "And I haven't said thanks quite yet." his expression turned into one rather seriously grateful, "I thank you for everything, and sorry for causing you trouble. Take care of yourself... Rena. Until next time." 

"You too." she watched him go for a while then called out, "Wait! Why do you know my name? I don't remember introducing myself.." 

Razp turned around and shrugged, giving her a wink, "Let's just say the other traveler kid just told me!" The man waved. "See ya!" 

Rena waved back, kicking herself inside for feeling warm. Once she returned to her house, she sighed, opening the letter slowly. She felt like a traitor and at the same time grateful. ::Maybe I'll find someone else later..:: she thought to herself hopefully. Her eyes widened as she read the note. 

"_I'll be in the forest tomorrow morning._" 

It was in a handwriting that she didn't recognize. She somehow thought it was Razp, then shook her head. He wouldn't know the significance of the forest... he couldn't have planned out some joke... right? 

All she could do now, was sit and wait. 

~~~ 

Rena couldn't help but wake up early the next morning. Or rather, she barely got any sleep. The note hadn't specified a time, so she assumed that she might beat the sender to the forest. She fretted as she changed, wondering if it was worth even bothering. Maybe it was someone bad out to kidnap her. Maybe it was someone playing a trick on her...she half expected no one to show up at all. 

The young woman stepped outside, eying the village. Everyone seemed to be still asleep. She shrugged, continuing to the forest. She went on until she saw a figure, completely cloaked and hooded, resting against a tree, with its back to her. 

"Um.." she called out, "Were you.. the one looking for me?" 

The figure shifted and did a movement which she assumed was a covered nod. 

"You are..?" 

"Do you...remember me?" 

Rena's eyes widened. The voice she heard was undoubtedly who she had hoped to see for the last two years. "Ashton?" 

The figure flipped off its hood and shed the cloak. When he turned, she could tell she was right, and she felt her heart skip a beat. The young man looked slightly older, but she could take the change as only a change for the better. His expression seemed less burdened and his hair was slightly longer. He attempted a smile. "Rena...? You've changed..." 

Undoubtedly she had. She had grown a few inches, though he still stood about a head taller than her. Her face could now be categorized as pretty rather than cute. Her eyes still held the same sparkle as years before though, and he could instantly recognize her even if only by that. She had kept her hair the same as well, along with the hairpin. 

"You have too, Ashton." she said, scanning him up and down. "What happened to Gyoro and Ururun?" Sure enough, both dragons were missing from his shoulders. 

His face darkened. "Well, you see..." he paused, blinked a few times, then sneezed. 

Rena immediately changed the subject, "Oh! Are you sick? I hope you didn't stay here all night or something." she gasped when he sheepishly nodded, "You could have come straight to my house!" 

"I didn't want to trouble you...and someone else was there, wasn't he?" 

Rena couldn't help but blush, "Well, he was just a traveler and.. I couldn't just leave him there. You both would have been welcome though! But still, why did you give me the letter?" 

"I wondered if you actually would have come. I guess now I think about it, it's really sort of suspicious..." 

"Of course I would have come..!" 

"Plus I didn't know exactly when you considered 'morning' (since I forgot to write the time and all), so I stayed here just in case. I didn't want to miss you or anything, so..." he added, scratching his head. "I--" the young man trailed off when he saw her eyes were brimming with tears. 

"Oooh~!" she murmured, taking a moment to leap into his arms. "Ashton.. you don't know how much I've missed you!" 

He blinked again and held her for a few minutes. "Rena... I'm glad to be back. Don't cry..." 

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so happy, and.." she felt him shiver and glanced up at him. "Oh! I should hurry and let you into my house.. I'll give you some medicine and you should rest." she took his hand and started to pull him with her. 

"Wait one second," he said, waiting for her to turn. She did so and he raised his free hand to wipe off the start of tears from her face. "There you go." 

The young woman smiled and escorted him into her house. 

~~~ 

Two nights later, Ashton was rather well, and Rena had proposed that he should see Westa the next day. She would have taken him that day, but Westa had said something about being too tired to see anyone then. Still, she was overjoyed that her daughter's companion was back. That night, Rena retired for bed rather early, and Ashton followed her upstairs. He was temporarily using Westa's bedroom, which was close to Rena's own. 

The two said goodnight and went to their corresponding rooms. Ashton felt that he had only been asleep for a few hours when heard a loud noise downstairs. Shrugging to himself he got up, looked around, and found nothing. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while though, and settled down in the kitchen, grabbing a drink to occupy himself. This time he heard the noise again, closer, and got up, heading for the door, when it suddenly fell in. The young warrior pulled out both of his swords and narrowed his eyes, "Who's there?" 

"Ah, there's one awake here," a voice drawled. Three men entered the house, wearing all black. Each was sufficiently armed. 

"Good, means we get some exercise...hopefully," another muttered. 

"Who are you all and what the heck do you think you're doing barging into someone's house like this?" Ashton demanded. 

"Why should we answer--" 

"We're looking for a woman named Westa," one of the men said. 

"Ye-yeah. That's right." another man turned to glower at his friend. 

"Westa!?" Ashton asked. 

"Surely you know her." the third man said, sharpening his sword slowly. 

Ashton didn't bother to answer and instead leapt forward, aiming both swords at the speaker's neck. The man flipped away, then jumped back, stopping both blades by a single. The other two intruders exchanged glances and nodded, starting toward the stairs.   
"Wait a minute! I'm not letting you guys get away!" Ashton slipped past the first fighter and skidded to a stop at the foot of the stairs. 

These two seemed less experienced, and he easily blocked their way for quite some time. The man he had left simply stood and watched in amusement. Little known to Ashton, he was slowly being pushed up the stairs by the attacks. The intruder still watching from below, who seemed to be the leader, sighed finally. He raised his hand, then snapped his fingers once. Then twice. He continued the pattern for some time. Though irritating, Ashton fought back the urge to tell the fighter to knock it off. First of all, it would distract him further, and second of all, the last time he did such a thing he was possessed by dragons. If it was one thing that he didn't want, it was to be possessed by two idiots like the ones he was fighting. 

He blocked a hard blow to his right and countered, pushing the two others down a step. He quickly glanced backwards. The top of the stairs was close, and the two men knew it. One began an all-out attack, a slight surprise to Ashton, who blocked the first two swings, and took one to his right shoulder. It wasn't enough to hinder him, though, and he when the fighter swung again, he ducked and pushed his opponent down one more step. Either fighter alone would have been easily sliced into pieces by Ashton, but both combined were a little of a challenge. The lack of space on the stairs was another problem. Each time one of the two poorer fighters got weary, the other filled in for them with an extra strong blow. Still, none of the fighters had really been able to cause much damage to any other as of then. Ashton's shoulder was cut, and one of the men's arm was bleeding slightly. The former could feel himself growing tired, and quickly. For some reason, the two seemed to become better and better, stronger and stronger with each blow. No...that wasn't it, Ashton was just getting slower and weaker-- 

The young man finally noticed that the snapping had stopped. His body felt rather stiff, and every movement was painful to execute. The fighters below him were obviously tired as well, but not half as much as him. His eyes widened. The snapping wasn't just anything random, it was done to stop him--he had gone through something similar in the Cave of Trials... 

The two men before him smirked in unison, exchanging glances. One prodded Ashton's side with his sword, drawing a thick line of blood. He tried his best to block, but it would barely count as an attempt. His arm wouldn't move over an inch if he strained hard enough. The second man did the same with his other side, making sure to form a bigger gash. 

"Are you sure that you don't know about Westa?" he demanded, swinging his sword up to stop at Ashton's neck, "If you tell us where she is, we might leave it all with this." 

"I...won't tell--" Ashton said immediately. 

The sword connected with his flesh, and dug in slightly. Ashton could do little more than bite down on his lip and close his eyes to lessen the pain. Neither movement helped much. "Cheating bastards," he managed to say, "Can't you even fight fairly as three on one?" 

The only reply was the sword digging in deeper. A steady stream of red liquid was slowly finding its way from his neck onto the floor. After what seemed an eternity of painful silence, there was a noise outside. Another voice, he could barely make out, called "We've found her! Let's get out of here!" 

The three men in the house nodded, the first muttering, "Shame but we'd better go." 

"Wa--wait but boss, we haven't checked upstairs yet!" another yelled. 

Ashton's eyes flickered and he struggled to move. With much hardship, he managed to block the way up the stairway, extending both arms. "I won't let you upstairs..." ::Rena is still up there.:: he reminded himself. ::I can't let them to her. I have to make sure that she's okay...it's the least I can do.:: 

The leader of the trio stepped up toward him, stepping onto the stair beneath Ashton. His eyes leveled with the other's. Slowly, he waved his hand toward the others. "Get out of here quick, we've already found her, we don't have any need to stay and look anywhere else!" 

"Ri-right!" the two intruders said, running off. One stopped at the doorway. "Hurry boss!" 

'Boss' nodded, and watched the two others continue away. He stepped back down a step and raised his sword, aiming directly at Ashton's heart. "Consider yourself lucky," he said, snickering as he plunged the weapon into the man with enough strength to break the spell and send Ashton flying into the wall at the top of the stairs. He moved aside to let the warrior tumble down on his own. 

Ashton opened one eye to see the man walk out, and tried to call out, but words wouldn't exit his throat. He rolled over, then paused, breathing heavily. Every little movement he tried to do only rewarded him with a thick feeling of pain searing through his body along with an extra blotch of blood on the floor. He attempted to sit up but failed, spitting out blood in the process. He wiped his mouth, slowly, another wave of pain shooting through him. 

::Rena...:: he glanced up toward the top of the stairs. At least she was okay, he remembered. The whole staircase was lathered with blood. He felt a little nauseous. He never knew that a person could contain so much blood in themselves...and he had never bled so profusely before. He reached up to touch his forehead when he felt a quick throbbing there. He already knew that he was quickly losing blood and strength as well. The final stab was harsh enough to take in. ::...Rena...!:: 

The young man shifted his weight to the first step of the stairs. Though only about ten to fifteen steps long, it was almost like an impossible mountain to climb for him then. 

"Rena..." he managed to murmur before he gave into the darkness threatening to envelop him. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Rena's eyes opened slowly. She thought she heard a loud noise downstairs, but had dismissed it as part of her dream. This time though, she could have sworn that she heard something hit the wall near her bedroom. Her first reaction was that it was her imagination as well, but she was curious to see if it was or not. Not wanting to wake Ashton, she tiptoed to the stairs. It was too dark to see a thing. A faint scent of copper wafted to her nose and she crinkled it in disgust. She slipped once on something wet--she assumed must have been leaking water--where did it come from? She turned on the lights and rubbed her eyes, adjusting slowly to them. What she saw before her gave her quite a fright. She could hardly believe her eyes. Her mouth opened in shock and she rushed downstairs, one hand over her mouth and the other gripping the railing. She was more than surprised to see that the bloody mess that she could have used to call a staircase was caused by her friend. 

"Ashton?" she called, taking the young man into her arms without worry about how bloody her own clothes were getting, "Ashton!? ..can you hear me? Wake up.. wake up.. please..?" 

When she received no reply, she simply shut both eyes and began to channel her energy gently into him, slowly shutting the wounds on his body. He stirred and she finished up after what seemed an eternity, at least for her. He moved to look into her eyes. "Rena... you're alright." he sighed, "Thank goodness." 

"What happened? Why were you.. are you alright?" 

"Thanks to you I feel better. A little groggy I must admit, but better at least." Ashton's eyes suddenly widened, "But more importantly, we have to find Westa! They came for her!!" 

"They?" 

Ashton had already gotten up and started out of the door. Rena could do nothing more than follow. Once she was outside, she gasped. Most of the doors of her neighbors' homes were caved in and she could hear whimpering everywhere. "Ashton!" she called out, "Please see what you can find out.. I have to help the others." she waited for him to nod consent and then rushed to the little kids' house first to see if they were alright. 

~~~ 

A few hours later, everyone who was injured was carried into one building so that Rena could care for them. Only one house was left unharmed in the attack, which was the couple's. They were sitting on a couch, hugging and crying together as their children watched unhappily. Luckily no one had passed away, they found, but Westa was missing. Ashton assumed that she had been taken and that was why he hadn't been assaulted further. He put a hand a few inches above his heart. The man had missed the vital organ thankfully but had made a wound big enough that Rena couldn't help heal the scar. He moved his hand to his neck. A scar was left there as well. He watched helplessly as the villagers tried to comfort themselves. Rena was going from person to person as quickly as she could, to heal their wounds. 

"I can't forgive them," she said when he approached, "After I know that everyone is okay, I'm going after them. I have to save my mother!" she took a deep, troubled breath and continued to heal her neighbor. 

"Rena, I'm going with you," Ashton said immediately. "I'm...sorry this had to happen. I have a feeling that if Gyoro and Ururun had been with me, I wouldn't have had a problem protecting you and this village as well. I wish I hadn't been so selfish as to want to get rid of them..." 

"You never know," she said slowly, stepping away from the person to a new one. "It's not your fault.." she sent a small smile in his direction and then sighed. "At least you were awake and tried..unlike me." 

She was finally finished with all of the people of the village. She smiled sadly at all of them, then announced, "I'm going to go for a while. Don't worry, I'll find my mother and bring her back. I'll be fine too, because Ashton will be with me," she nodded and waved farewell for a while, ignoring their pleas to have her rest. "I don't have time," she explained, "I'll be okay." 

Once they were out of the village, Rena paused, turning toward her friend. "And I forgot to say..at the very least you protected me, didn't you? ..thank you.." 

She watched Ashton's face tinge red, and couldn't help but feel herself grow warm as well. 

"Y-you're welcome. But Rena, you should have listened to the villagers... you've used too much of your energy to go on for much longer." 

"But I can't rest!" she protested, "My mother is counting on me." the young woman's ears drooped and she glanced down. 

Ashton sighed. "Don't worry... we won't waste too much time if you rest." he stepped forward, squatting down a little. "Here... I'll carry you. You can rest while I walk... then we won't waste time." 

"But I can't let you do that..!" 

The young man shrugged, standing and walking up to her. He picked her up and held her in his arms. "Don't worry about me. You should worry more about yourself. You spent too much energy healing just now..." 

Although she had been complaining, she couldn't help but feel tired after everything that happened. She snuggled up against him and slowly fell asleep. (Which undoubtedly made the young man blush...) 

~~~ 

When she awoke, they were in the middle of a forest. Rena simply hoped Ashton knew where he was going. The young man yawned once and glanced down, feeling her move in his arms. "Awake? It's been about five hours..." 

"Already that long!?" Rena exclaimed, "You must be tired!" 

"I'm fine, just a little," he yawned again, "sleepy." 

"Well um.. you should rest then," Rena said, "And you can put me down now." 

Ashton gently returned her to her feet. "We don't have time do we? Plus I don't think you want to be carrying me now, do you?" 

Rena turned red at the thought. "But.. I'm worried about you! You have to get sleep. We can afford an hour or so.." 

"But that's an extra hour for them to get away. We already lost most track of them. I can sleep after we find them..." 

Rena stopped in her footsteps and turned, going on her tiptoes and putting both hands on his shoulders. She pushed down against him, effectively making him go down on his knees. 

"Wait, Rena, we--" 

She went onto her knees slowly as well, and pulled him closer to her, putting his head down on her lap. "Sleep." she commanded. Noticing his complete hesitation, she patted his head twice. "Ashton.. please?" 

The young man sighed. "Rena... we're wasting time. Remember how you didn't want to do that?" 

"I don't want you to get sick because of me again," she said firmly, "Plus you've just recovered from your wounds, and you've been carrying me for the last five hours! Please. Listen to what I say.. just this once.." 

Ashton let out another sigh. "If you're going to be like that, I guess I can't refuse..." 

The two paused, hearing footsteps from the forest. A bunch of leaves brushed back to reveal someone neither had expected to see. 

"Di-Dias!" Rena exclaimed, her face turning beet red. 

"O-oh, um, this isn't what it looks like..." 

"Well you see, Ashton hasn't had much sleep for a while so--" 

"I didn't mean anything by it so--" 

"What are you two babbling about?" the silver-haired swordsman snapped, "Did you come here to find the people who attacked Arlia?" 

"How did you know about that!?" Ashton demanded. 

Rena hopped up, rushing toward her friend. "Dias!" she exclaimed as the two wondered if she had heard what they had been speaking about. "I'm glad you're okay!" 

Dias placed a hand on the young woman's head. "I got a hold of three of them, but two escaped me." his expression darkened, "I hadn't expected a magic user. I guess I let my guard down." a small unhumored smirk landed on his face, "Even I still need to pay more attention in battle." 

Rena was busying herself by looking the man up and down. Even Dias didn't feel too comfortable with this. "Rena... what do you think you're doing?" 

She frowned, taking his free hand into both of hers. "You're bleeding." 

"Don't worry about it. I accidentally cut my hand on my blade today. I've been careless." 

She simply pouted. 

"I forgot to mention," Dias continued, his voice and face emotionless, "I've managed to find Westa. I'm sorry to tell you, Rena, but she's already dead." 


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3******

Rena's eyes widened and she instinctively grabbed onto him. "No.. you're kidding, right Dias? ..that's not funny.." she sniffled, hiding her face in his clothes. Dias let her cry for a moment, then pushed her away. 

"If you want to do that, go do it on your lover." he gestured toward Ashton, who turned beet red and shook his head furiously. 

"I-I'm not--" he began, but Rena cut him off. 

"Where is she!? Show me where she is!" 

Dias pointed behind himself, shrugging. "Go see for yourself." he watched her silently as she ran off, then turned to Ashton. 

Ashton was starting toward Rena, slowly, to give her time. Dias sighed and followed, eying the three bodies of the figures he had disposed of earlier, and wondering if he should bother to hide them so Rena wouldn't see. 

When the two got there, Rena was next to her mother, squatting down and listening for a heartbeat. She raised both hands to try to heal Westa, but stopped when one of Westa's hands lifted and touched hers. The young mother suddenly got up, startling both Rena and Ashton further. The latter hid a little behind Dias, saying something about Westa being a ghost risen from the dead. Westa smiled slowly, between coughs. 

"Rena..." she whispered, her eyes moving back and forth, "Dias, Ashton, you two have grown since I last saw you. You've both become rather handsome haven't you... not that you weren't before of course." 

Ashton stepped forward. "You shouldn't speak if you're sick. Are you hurt?" 

"Did they do anything to you?" Rena added in. 

"My time is soon to come," Westa replied, "I'm happy you came for me though. Rena-- I have some things to tell you." 

Dias took the hint and nodded, turning to leave. "You too," he hissed to Ashton, who sheepishly followed. 

They came to a clearing when Dias spoke. "I have things to tell you as well." 

"You? To me?" Ashton wondered aloud. 

"...you weren't able to help the people of Arlia. You even allowed Westa to be kidnapped. Didn't you live with her?" 

"You didn't hear? Westa was in the mayor's house--" Ashton sighed, "I... know I let my guard down. I left Arlia myself for two years, in order to be rid of my curse... and returned two days ago." 

"Ah, no wonder you seemed to be missing something... (and you even left Rena alone... if only I had known...)" Dias muttered, "No matter. What is important is that you managed to save Rena. If you hadn't, you would have lost your life about now." 

Ashton stepped back a little. ::Better not make this guy mad...:: 

"I have a favor to ask of you." 

"A favor...?" 

"...Rena. I want you to protect Rena." 

"Me? Why not do it yourself? ...you know you're much stronger than me..." 

"I can't... I can't stay near her or I'll cause her trouble. She worries... too much about me. My life revolves around battle. She would be an easy target for anyone against me." Dias turned away, but not before Ashton caught the look of pain on his face. "Rena... I cannot protect. I wish to, but I cannot." 

"You...love Rena, don't you?" 

"As a younger sister yes. I... don't want to lose another... she is too young for me to be anything else." 

"Dias..." Ashton stepped forward, shaking his head, "Age doesn't matter if you truly care for her! (Erm, at least, that's what I think...)" 

Dias stood silently for a while. "You're a bit too naive if you think that way. But anyway...if you think to hurt her in any way, you'll be answering to me." 

Ashton slowly nodded, his expression serious, "I think I can take up that favor... because I don't want Rena hurt either." 

"...heh," Dias smirked, glancing sidelong toward the other man, "You've fallen for her too, haven't you?" 

"I... well... um, I... you see... I..." 

"Nothing to be ashamed of... as long as you treat her right." he began to walk away. 

"H-hey where are you--" 

"Tell Rena I'll be going on ahead. I'm going to look for the other two... if we're fated, we'll see each other again shortly." he paused, stopping in his tracks. "Ah, if you happen to find them before I dispose of them, remember one thing..." Dias' eyes narrowed. "They're stronger than they look." he lifted his hand, "Don't tell Rena, but this isn't from a silly mistake." 

Ashton nodded. He hadn't thought that Dias would be the careless type, especially when it came to weaponry. He watched Dias go and sighed slowly. Rena returned to him about an hour or so later, her expression downcast. 

"Rena... are you alright?" he ventured to ask. 

"My mother.. passed away." she said, her voice dull, "I wasn't able to do anything to help.. I just finished burying her." 

"...oh. I see. You could have let me know... I would have helped." 

"I wanted to do it myself." the young woman clenched her fist. "I won't forgive the men who caused this! I'll get revenge for my mother.. I'll find the two men left that Dias didn't--Dias.. where is he?" 

"He told me to say he went on ahead of us." 

"Oh.." Rena's ears drooped. "I wanted to talk a little more with him too." 

"Um, Rena," Ashton said finally, "I want you to know that if... maybe if you feel bad enough to..." he shook his head and stepped forward, taking the young woman into his arms. "I know that you're sad... go ahead and cry if you'd like." 

He half expected her to try and laugh it off, but even she was tired of it all. She burst into tears, holding tightly onto him the entire time. 

~~~ 

After she was finished, she posed a question. "Um.. Did he say anything about where the two others went..?" 

Neither had any clue as to their whereabouts, so they decided to stop by Cross to at least stay at a hotel for the night. There was a room still open when they arrived, to their relief. 

"I want to wake up early and set back out," Rena said, to Ashton's slight irritation. 

"Meaning we can't sleep in?" It seemed Rena had forgotten he had still not gotten any rest. 

"You can.. but then I'll leave without you." 

"No way. I'...m here for you, Rena." 

The young woman blinked, then felt herself turning red. The two turned a corner and he continued. 

"What I mean to say is...Rena..." Ashton said, his face burning, "I love--" 

"Claude!" Rena blurted out. 

"Huh? Um... not exactly... wait! What about Claude?" 

Rena had already run past him and was hugging a familiar blonde swordsman. A small tinge of jealousy found its way into Ashton as he approached, but he couldn't help but lose his anger when Claude stuck out a hand. 

"Hey you two, long time no see! Hm, seems you two are more than just friends now, eh? A little like me and Precis maybe?" Claude teased. 

"Well no, not really," Rena said, shyly looking toward Ashton, who couldn't help but think ::We might have been if you didn't just interrupt us...:: 

"What!? You and Precis are married? Congratulations!" Ashton heard Rena exclaim after a while. His eyes widened. He felt slightly sad and relieved at the same time. At least his first crush--er rather admiration, for he had always enjoyed being in the enthusiastic girl's company--had achieved happiness. 

Claude was nodding happily. "Here, let me show you..." he dragged both of the others to his room, then popped in and back out. When he appeared the second time, he was accompanied by a slightly older looking (and a tad taller) Precis. She was carrying a baby in her arms. She beamed at Rena and Ashton. "I have a second one coming up too," she confessed, patting her stomach. 

Rena and Ashton couldn't help but exchange glances and think, ::They're quick...:: 

"Well, you sure look older and prettier now, Precis," Rena said, smiling, "I'm glad you seem to be doing well." 

"All 'cause of Claude!" Precis replied. It was obvious by then that her enthusiastic behavior hadn't changed over time. "He even got me these clothes to wear instead!" she was now wearing a pink mini-skirt and top, which was slightly baggy to make sure it didn't hurt her stomach. "Oh but it's so nice to see you guys! We're meeting up with Celine here supposedly and we tried to contact you two a few days ago, but when I called, some weird guy picked up and said you weren't home." 

"Some.. guy?" 

"Yeah, he said he was your boyfriend... uhh I forgot his name though." 

"Razp!?" Ashton and Rena exclaimed at once. The latter looked disbelievingly at the former. 

"You know him?" 

"It's a long story... I'll tell you later," he said sheepishly. 

~~~ 

"I'm sorry that we couldn't get separate rooms," Ashton said as Rena and he entered their room. They had promised to meet up with Claude and Precis in an hour to eat dinner and so went to put their things down. 

"It's okay. I'm fine with it and at least we have separate beds.. I wouldn't want either of us to have to sleep on the floor." 

He nodded and watched her take a seat on the closer bed. He correspondingly took a seat on the other. 

"I wonder where Chisato and Noel are." she said slowly. 

"Probably out traveling." Ashton said with a shrug. 

"Ashton," Rena began, casting her eyes downward, "I.. need to tell you something." 

"What is it, suddenly? So serious..." he frowned, seeing her squeeze the sheets as if she were in pain. He got up slowly and squatted down in front of her on the bed. "Rena...?" 

"My mother told me why she was attacked. She said the men were looking for Nedians.. the last surviving three. It was because of me that she was attacked. They didn't know that I was home then and she didn't say anything more to them. I.. might not have been able to even speak to her if Dias hadn't come in time." she moved her eyes toward him, timidly, "I think they want to do something with the Nedian ability to heal. I..'m scared Ashton, they might be after me. Noel and Chisato are in trouble.. I.. don't want--" 

"Don't worry, we'll find them before they can do anything more." he winked, "We have to. The others will help too, I'm sure. We should discuss it over dinner." 

"Yo--you're right.. but I don't want to cause trouble. I.. know that what Dias said about his wound was fake. The men are people that not even Dias can handle alone. I.. should have stopped him.. we should have gone together! He might be in trouble.. all because of me.. my descent.. If anything happens to Dias, I.." 

"It's not your fault, Rena. Besides," he glanced aside, "I promised him that I would protect you." 

"But why? I don't want you to risk your life protecting me.. You shouldn't risk your life just for a friend--" 

"Of course I should! But... I only go all out to protect those that I love." 

Rena's eyes widened. "Then.. you.. d-don't mean to say.." 

"...I love you, Rena." 

The door opened a few minutes later to reveal Celine, who immediately blurted, "Rena darling, I thought you might want to borrow my room so that you don't have to stay alone with Ashton tonight--" she trailed off, noticing that the two were as of then locked in an embrace. She watched silently as he shifted forward and leaned down to place his lips on Rena's. 

"Or maybe not~, nevermind, excuse me!" Celine shut the door. 

Rena pulled away a moment afterwards. "Um..I though I heard Celine's voice a while back.." 

"I didn't hear anything..." 

"Must have been my imagination.." 

~~~ 

Celine waved a hand irritably as a waiter served the group their food. "I can't believe you two didn't notice when I was talking to you." she rolled her eyes, then crossed her arms dramatically. "Hmph..." 

Rena sheepishly scratched her head. "So-sorry, Celine, I thought I heard you, but--" 

"You were too in the moment, yeah yeah." the mage sighed. "It's alright, Rena darling. But I wonder why nobody told me that you two were going out?" 

"Well, they weren't," Precis interrupted, "At least, that's what Claude said that they said!" 

Ashton and Rena exchanged embarrassed glances. Claude simply shrugged. "We have more important things to discuss now, don't we?" 

Everyone at the table nodded. Rena poked at her food, as the others ate in silence. 

"Hey Rena, whaddya have to say, hm?" Precis finally blurted out. Claude put a hand on her shoulder, and she glanced aside. 

The young Nedian took a deep breath. "You all.. know my mother, right? ..she.. passed away." 

"What!?" 

Celine tried to look interested in her food as she spoke. "Rena darling, I'm sorry to hear that." 

"That's not all of it, though," Rena said slowly, putting down her fork and reaching for her cup. "Arlia was.. attacked. I don't exactly know by who, because.." 

"More importantly, Dias is after the attackers right now." Ashton filled in, and Rena gave him a look of relief. "According to him, there's five in the main group. He's disposed of three, but there's two left. One is a mage, supposedly. We don't really even know where the men went. All we know is that--" 

"I'll take over the rest, Ashton." all eyes diverted back toward Rena. "Before.. my mother passed away, she told me a few things about the men. She had gotten kidnapped by them, because of me.." she leaned back, sighing. "She said that they were after the 'three remaining Nedians,' and she had gotten kidnapped because they thought she knew where they were. They had known that she was taking care of me, but she didn't let them know that I was back home already. My mother didn't know exactly why they are after Nedians, but.. I think it has to do with their ability to heal. Chisato doesn't use it, but Noel.. I think that they might be in trouble. Have any of you kept track of their whereabouts?" 

Claude and Precis shook their heads. "Not after we went to Earth. We knew about where Celine was, and that you were still in Arlia, but that's about it..." 

Celine looked thoughtfully upward. "I have a feeling that knowing that Chisato darling, the two would probably be traveling. Why don't we take a look at the papers around the areas, and see if she has written any articles for them recently? Or for Noel darling, try going anywhere with animals--" 

"That would be such a waste of time though," Precis said, shrugging. "There's animals everywhere, and we don't have time to look through papers, because by the time that we do that, the other guys woulda probably found the two!!" 

"But there's nothing else I can think of, darling," Celine remarked, folding her arms. "Does anyone else have a better idea?" 

"Does Dias know where he's going?" Claude blurted out. 

"I assume so," Ashton muttered, "But we don't even know where Dias is anymore." 

Rena looked down. "This is all because I spent too much time healing everyone else. I should have been awake when the men attacked Arlia. ..it's all my fault.." 

"This isn't the time to be saying things like that," Claude said, "Hey, if you guys don't mind, why don't we go and help you out? It'll be like before." he turned toward Precis, "Uh, though I guess this time it might not work out..." 

Precis shook her head. "Go ahead, Claude! I'll be fine by myself! I'm going to go visit Dad, Nineh and Bowman in Linga anyway! And while I'm at it, I'll visit Leon at the castle lab! I guess I can't go with you guys this time though, because of my kids...I'll still be rooting for you though! And how 'bout I try to look for information while I'm at it?" 

She dug through her bag behind her, then pulled out two objects that looked suspiciously like boxes with antennas on them. "Here, take one of these! I brought 'em back from Earth! They're called...uhh...cell somethings..." 

"Cell phones," Claude said slowly, scratching his head. "But you brought them here? I don't know if the signals from this planet will work like they do on Earth." 

"Don't worry! I fixed 'em up so they would!!" she looked energetically from side to side. "Okay? It's settled then!" 

"I hope you didn't forget about me yet, darlings," Celine said, pushing herself forward to make herself look more important, "I'll be going with you all as well. You can all feel safe again, now that I'll be joining you like before!" 

Rena smiled slowly. "Thanks.. you all.." 

The heraldic magic user stood up, pushing her plate aside. "Now that that's understood, I'm going back to my room. I have a feeling I should get to bed early, if we're traveling with you two." she started out of the restaurant, then turned, sending the young woman a wink. "We'll find Noel and Chisato in no time, so don't you worry. Have a good night's sleep as well. See you tomorrow, darlings!" 

They watched her leave in silence. 

"Hey Ashton," Precis asked, "What happened to your dragons? I forgot to ask earlier..." 

Ashton sighed. "...I guess I should explain about them. (Although Celine won't hear the explanation...)" he glanced toward Rena, "I haven't explained to you about them either, have I..." his eyes diverted to the side. "You both know I stayed in Arlia with Rena for a year, but after that, I left, in order to rid myself of my curse. As Rena had said before, I knew that the way written in Mars would end up killing the two...and I couldn't just... so I tried to look for a different way to get rid of them... and return to my normal body. One of the days, I ran into a mage, who told me that he had an idea of how to get rid of the curse. I followed him back to the Salva Drift, which was where I got cursed in the first place... and he casted a spell, which I had never heard of before. It was quick as a snap, and not even painful. Gyoro and Ururun were back in the Salva Drift, and I was back to normal. You don't know how happy that I was...up until he told me the consequences of the spell. He had reversed the spell so that I would return to my normal body, but at the expense of the bulk of my experience as a fighter..." Ashton trailed off, pulling Rena slightly toward him. She blushed slightly and he continued, "...I'm sorry I didn't return to Arlia sooner, but I didn't want to return as a complete amateur in battle. I didn't think that I would be welcome if I was... so I set out to train again, and spent the bulk of the last year trying to re-polish my skills... but even though I knew my skills before, I can't seem to acquire them faster than before. ...I'm sorry, Rena... if I had known, I might have not..." he slammed a hand on the table. "If I hadn't done what I did, I might have been able to fare better against the men who attacked Arlia... if I had waited just a little longer..." 

"Ashton.." Rena shook her head, moving away from the young man, "Don't worry about it.. it isn't your fault. I'm just glad you made it back alright." she stood up, turning around. "..I think I'm done eating.." 

"You didn't eat anything, though!" Precis complained. 

"I'm okay. I don't have time to be eating." 

"You needta get all your nutrition or else you'll regret later!" she pointed out. 

The blue-haired young woman smiled and shrugged. "I think I'll go and see if I can find any information about Arlia or Noel and Chisato around town. Excuse me." 

"...wait, I'll go with you!" Ashton exclaimed, following her out of the door. 

Claude and Precis exchanged glances. "Something wrong, Claude?" Precis asked after a while, "You seem a little pale." 

"I'm fine...just thinking that Dias had a problem with them makes me wonder..." 

"Oh who cares about that! I mean, he was alone then, but when we find him we won't have a problem because we have more people! Plus, he might have gotten weaker you know, maybe he hasn't trained hard enough! You've been training for a while afterwards, so you might even be stronger than him!" 

"...no... knowing him, he has been training as long as I have...maybe even more..." the young man's eyes moved upwards. "...I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it all." 

"...Claude? You're acting a little strange." 

"Oh? It's nothing." he smiled weakly. "Nothing at all." 

~~~ 

The next morning, the group found that there had been little information around Cross, besides that a man said that he thought he recalled a reporter by the name of Chisato in Hilton before. 

"Might as well travel to Lacour, I guess," Claude said slowly. 

"Wait one second!!" Precis demanded, waving an arm. "How 'bout this!? I'll go to Lacour, because I sorta haveta to get Linga. I'll try and find information over there, and if I find the two I'll let you know." 

"I think it'll be a little dangerous if you do..." Ashton said. 

"No way! I mean, what will they do to a grown woman like me with a kid and another one coming? Heehee and if there's any real problem I'll use Bobot and kick them into the sky! Don't you worry about me! I haven't lost my touch just 'cuz I'm a mom now, you know!" she winked. "You guys should stay around here and check this place out! I have a feeling they should still be around here anyway, because thinking logically, they shouldn't have been able to make it to Lacour that early could they? It takes a while to get there... don't worry about my traveling over there, I'll just call bunny!" She skipped off toward the direction of the port. "Don't bother coming with me, I'll be fine alone! Buh-bye for now! Claude, you'd better come home as soon as possible, 'kay?" 

Claude watched her leave, a look of concern on his face. "Maybe I should go with her to Linga and then meet up with you guys again later. I'm a little worried about Precis." 

"That might be a good idea. Claude darling, you know what might be better? If you just stay with Precis in Lacour. Rena darling and Ashton darling both have me with them, so we'll be find on our own. Precis on the other hand..." Celine attempted. 

Claude nodded slowly and handed her his cell phone. "It'll be easy enough to understand how to use. Be careful you guys!" 

"You too, Claude!" Rena and Celine waved and Ashton nodded, giving the other young man a smile. 

"See you soon, Claude." he said, as the blonde swordsman rushed off to follow his wife. 

"And good luck," Rena said, grinning. "Precis might take a while to convince that he should go with her." 

"True, true." 

"More importantly, darlings, what is our plan?" Celine asked, putting her hands on her hips. "We shouldn't be wasting time here, that's for one. Considering Lacour is being taken care of... if you two don't mind, why don't we stop by Mars? I might be able to find out something there. My relatives may know something..." 

Rena nodded slowly. "I guess so. Since we have no idea where Dias is.." she sighed. "I wish he could have told us where he was heading.." 

"We'll meet up with him again soon," Ashton said, "Hopefully..." 

"..I hope we can find the others before time runs out.." 

"Hey, Rena darling, don't worry too much. It isn't like Noel and Chisato can't fend that much for themselves either." Celine pointed out. 

"But still, neither are as strong as Dias." 

"...we never know..." the woman glanced away, knowing as well as Rena that she was right. "Anyway, let's head to Mars." 

~~~ 

"Dias! Dias Flac!" 

The man ignored the irritating voice, passing by the people of Mars. He wasn't planning on staying. He had a sense for where the evil had gone, and it was nonexistent in this village. The other men must have past it by and gone straight for the port. He smirked slightly, it was too easy to tell their place of destination. Much too easy. 

"Dias Flac!" 

He had gotten a little too used to his popularity after the Tournament of Arms already. Sometimes he wished he hadn't bothered to enter, if he was to be getting pestered every few seconds by a random fan of his. 

"Mr. Flac!!" 

"What do you want?" Dias turned around, his eyes narrowed. "I don't have the time to be talking to you." 

"I--I'm sorry, but someone wishes to talk to you, so--" 

"Who? Why? Tell them that I'm busy." 

"U--um, but they insisted on speaking with you. They said that they're related to you." 

His eyebrow raised. "Related? Hmph. There's nobody left who's related to me." 

"W--well, but you might as well listen her out, shouldn't you?" 

"Are you trying to order me around? Listen, I don't have time to waste around here." He turned back around. 

"Well fine then...but she told me that she would be waiting at the second room of the inn." the stranger grumbled to himself as he walked away, "Some Cecille whatever..." 


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4******

Dias hesitated, then spun back, picking the man up by his shirt collar. "What did you say her name was?" 

"C--Cecille she said it was! Le--let me go please!" 

The swordsman dropped the stranger, and sighed. "...who knows about her..." 

He knocked once on the second room of the inn, and then tried the knob. It was open. He entered slowly, his eyes shifting from right to left. "...someone wanted to speak with me? Hurry it up." 

"...brother?" 

He flinched, then glanced toward the door leading to the room's bedroom. "Who are you." 

A young girl appeared slowly from the room, her hands wrapped around herself. Dias took a step back. "Brother?... it's me, Cecille." 

Unmistakably, she was a remarkable image of his younger sister. Even he himself had to admit this. But she was... she had been... 

"...Cecille...?" 

"Brother! It really is you!" she ran over to him, leaping into his arms. He stood still for a moment, and then leaned down to hug her. 

"Cecille...this can't be. You were... I wasn't able to..." he lifted her up, looking her straight in the face, trying to decipher what kind of trick this might have been. Her face was identical to the one he had seen years back, just a little older, matching of the age she should have been then. He hesitated, then lowered her, shaking his head. "No... this must be an illusion..." he unsheathed his sword, raising it over his head and pointing it toward the image of his younger sister. She blinked up innocently at him, putting her hands together in a praying position. 

"Brother? What are you doing?" 

"You're just my imagination, aren't you... Disappear!" he plunged the sword down, and shut his eyes for a split second. When he reopened them, he saw that the sword had barely missed his sister, and she was looking up toward him, confused. She put her small hands on his, and attempted a smile. 

"What's wrong with you, Brother? It's me! Cecille! I don't know why but I'm back..." she frowned. "...you didn't miss me?" 

Dias paused, scanning her. "...what about...mother and father...?" 

"...I don't know," Cecille replied, her eyes casting downward. "I'm sorry, brother..." she hugged her brother, not caring when he didn't return the gesture. He released the sword. "...they said you were fighting because of us...but I'm back now...you don't have to fight anymore...we can just live peacefully together back in Arlia, can't we?" a tear fell from her cheek. "I missed you, brother!" 

"...not as much as I've missed you...Cecille..." the man scooped his sister back up into his arms and squeezed her tightly. 

~~~ 

A few hours later, Rena, Ashton, and Celine had made it to Mars Village. After they had walked a while and questioned a few people, they found a man who seemed awfully suspicious. He told them that he had seen someone by the name of Flac a moment before. 

"You mean that you've seen Dias?" Rena ventured to ask, and the man from before nodded enthusiastically. 

"Mr. Flac should still be present around someplace in the village," he said, glancing around, "I haven't seen him leave. The last I saw of him was that he was heading toward the inn. I think in order to meet someone named Cecille." 

"..Cecille..?!" 

Celine stepped forward, her eyes narrowed and pointing a finger accusingly at the man. "Are you sure that the person was named Cecille? Darling, I think you must be mistaken." she crossed her arms and shook her head. "Don't you know that Cecille is already dead? Oh, of course you don't! But who cares about that. Where is Dias now?" 

"U--um the person who claimed she was Cecille said something about being in the second room of the inn...maybe Mr. Flac is with her?" the man nervously backed away, "U--um if you'd excuse me..." 

"Rena..." Ashton turned toward her. "You want to go?" 

"Of course," the young woman replied, "..Cecille.. I need to know what's going on." 

"Yes of course, darling," Celine said, "But we'd better hurry, in case he cares to leave while we're standing around." 

Following her advice, the three made their ways to the inn, pausing when they heard a bunch of people in the hallway. "Is he dead?" a voice cried out. 

"No, he's not. He's still breathing..." another said. 

"Wait! I think he's saying something..." 

"...........I can't make it out." 

"I think we should get him to a bed or something...he might be sick." 

"Maybe he fainted..." 

"Or was drugged?" 

"Don't make it so overly dramatic!" 

"Um, excuse me," Rena said, stepping over to the group of people. "What is going on?" 

A girl of around twelve years of age blinked up at her, then pointed to the center of the group. "Some guy was lying on the floor of a room, and the room was wide open so now everyone's making a whole bunch of commotion. I think I recognize the guy but I don't know for sure. Maybe he was in the Tournament of Arms a long time ago... yes, I think that's where I've seen him." 

Ashton and Celine exchanged glances. "You don't think..." 

By this time, Rena had managed to get to the center of the area, and she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "..Dias..!" 

The swordsman was on the floor, his sword laid a few inches away from him. His chest rose and fell lightly, and he seemed to be in a rather peaceful sleep. She approached him slowly and squatted down next to him. "Dias?" 

His lips moved slightly, and she leaned down to try and decipher his words. She listened to him breathe for a while, until he spoke again, softly:   
"........Cecille........" 

"Someone help me take him to a bed!" Rena called out, "There's something wrong with him.. this isn't just some normal sleep. I know Dias well enough to know that he isn't the kind of man who would simply fall over and collapse either!" 

Celine waved a hand, "I'll see if there's anything suspicious around here... I have to find that man who told us about Cecille!" 

A couple of strangers raised arms to motion that they would help the man to a good place to rest, while Ashton tried to move the rest of the group away. "Stand back, everyone," he called out, "We don't want to get in the way!" 

~~~ 

Rena sat silently in one of the other rooms of the inn. She was looking up at the ceiling, a hand over her heart. The door opened slowly to reveal Celine, who shut the door quietly after her and took a seat next to the young woman on the bed. "Rena darling... did you find out anything? I'm sorry but I couldn't find that man again. I think he ran away or something. He seemed the type." she rolled her eyes. "Next time I see him, I'm going to burn him into charcoal--" 

"Dias won't wake up." 

Celine raised an eyebrow, paused, then spoke, "And do you know why that is, darling?" 

"No.. but I have a feeling it has to do with those men who are after Noel and Chisato.. and me, I guess. When I was with him, Dias kept whispering Cecille's name. It's almost as though he's imagining her--in a dream or something. ..but he won't wake up.." 

"He must be stuck in his dream then." the mage brushed her hair from her face. "At least it isn't a nightmare, darling." 

Rena spun around to face her, eyes brimming with tears. "It's not something to joke about! What if Dias doesn't get better? It'll.. be mostly my fault again! I knew I shouldn't have let him go off alone.. I should have run after him when I could have." 

"This isn't the time to be blaming yourself. ...Darling, our main problem right now is that now that Dias is out of it, he can't even tell us where the men were heading." 

"But what about Dias in general?! I can't leave him here and go look for--" 

"That's the point!" Celine said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "Don't you get it? If we stay here, it'll be like the men will be expecting! Cruel or not, we'd better go on. We have to. Now that our clues are gone, we're going to be at a disadvantage, but we still have Claude and Precis on our side. We have to watch out for what Dias had happen to himself. But! We can't wait here until he recovers. Are you going to leave Noel and Chisato alone because you're worried about Dias?! Dias will recover. Believe in him. We have to go on. After we find Noel and Chisato we can come back for Dias. Do you understand what I'm saying, Rena darling?!" 

Rena looked toward Celine, her eyes widened. She sat silently for a while. "..no. I don't understand. Noel and Chisato are important, I know, but.. but Dias.." 

"...fine! If you're going to be that way, I'll take Ashton darling and search for the men myself! You can stay here and weep over your friend all you like." Celine turned around in a huff, storming to the door, then glanced back once. "Darling, if you stay with Dias, you might end up causing trouble. Remember, the men aren't only after Noel and Chisato. They're after you too!" 

The Nedian watched her friend leave, then buried her head in her hands. "..that's right.. all I'm doing is causing everyone trouble.. Dias.. Ashton.. Celine.. everyone.. ..yes.. everyone..................." 

~~~ 

"Celine! That was too cruel!" Ashton complained as she explained what she had said to Rena. 

"Darling, if you don't pound things into that girl, you won't get anywhere with her! You need to learn more about her. I thought you'd know better by now!" Celine argued, as she paced around the room, "She'll understand soon enough. Give her a day. If she hasn't changed her mind, I'm going on without her. You understand, don't you Ashton darling?" she waited little for a response. "More importantly, you should try and convince her yourself. I have an odd feeling that you might be a little more convincing." 

"Well, I don't know about that..." 

"You are too NICE to her! If it wasn't for me, I'd bet you'd be staying here with her until Dias was well, and by then Noel and Chisato would be out of this world! Argh!" 

"We don't even know what the men will do with the two... we don't really even know if they're after Noel and Chisato..." 

"Darling. I hope you aren't really thinking they aren't going to hurt the Nedians. Or else why would they be attacking Arlia in the first place? Don't you care about what happens to her anyway? If Noel and Chisato are finished off, then Rena will be the next target!" 

"But--" 

"But whatever! Darling, when it comes to Rena, you're as hopeless as when it comes to barrels! (Although I guess that's not too great of a comparison.)" she turned around, kicking a decorative urn which was conveniently in front of her. 

"...Celine, that's an urn, not a barrel. (Poor urn, don't kick it too hard or else it might break...)" 

"That's not the point!" she took a deep breath. "Anyway, listen. We need to make sure Rena comes with us. We have to protect her. ...I don't want to leave her alone here either, but we're already behind schedule. I'm going to call up Claude and Precis tonight and see what they have come up with. Darling, you talk to Rena. Make sure she's not planning on staying with Dias. Persuade her somehow. I don't care how, just do it quick! I don't want to leave her here. Heck, I'm worried about Dias as well, but knowing him, he'll end up fine." she stopped pacing and sighed. "...I guess I'd better apologize to her later today too. Knowing Rena darling, I've hurt her feelings much more than I should have." 

"Celine..." 

There was a knock on the door and both turned to see Rena enter, her head lowered. Her ears were drooping. "...hi, Rena." Ashton attempted. Celine moved away to let the other young woman sit down. Rena gave no reply, and simply lay down on the bed, covering her face with both arms. 

"...darlings, I think it's about time that I go to my own room," Celine said, giving a stern glance in Ashton's direction. "I'll check up what's going on with Claude darling and Precis." The young man nodded and watched as she left the room. He then turned toward Rena. 

"...are you alright?" 

"..do I look it..?" 

He sighed, remembering Celine's words, but unable to speak harshly toward his girlfriend. "I'm sorry about what happened to Dias..." 

"You make it sound like he's dead." 

"Rena...!" 

The Nedian moved her arm away from an eye to see Ashton's hurt expression. "..I want to sleep." she said flatly. "Would you mind turning off the lights?" 

He made no move toward the switch. "I know that you care about Dias and all, but what are you planning on doing about Chisato and Noel?" 

She shifted a little. "..oh no, you too. You're going to lecture me too, aren't you? You're going to say to leave Dias and go on to look for Noel and Chisato aren't you? What happens if the men try to attack Dias? I can't leave him in this state.. he's too weak. You don't know Dias as well as I do. I feel bad for him, I really do.. he's lost his family in front of his face.. I've known him since I was small.. he's like my older brother. I can't leave him here! I just can't!" she sat up, her eyes narrowing. "You don't understand.. you're like Celine! You're on her side, aren't you? You don't understand me.. you don't understand me at all!!" he could see that her lower lip was trembling, and she immediately fell back down on the bed, covering her face again. "..sorry.. Ashton. I'm so sorry.. but.. let me stay here. Please.. I can't leave Dias like this." 

"...so in short you want to say that you care more about Dias than Noel and Chisato?" 

"Don't compare them! ..don't.." she sniffled. "Ashton.. please." 

Ashton stood up, turning away. "I'm sorry. I understand... or at least I think I understand both you and Celine's feelings. Leaving Dias will make you worry... but staying with him... would make everything so much harder. Noel and Chisato won't have any warning about anything..." 

"Claude and Precis can find them." she said, trying to sound emotionless, but failing miserably. "They might have already been found. Have you ever thought about that? The only other Nedian is me. They'll have to come to me. Why do I have to look for them.." 

"Rena!" 

"You can go with Celine and look for Noel and Chisato. I'll stay here with Dias. He'll get better soon, I know it. Then I'll go and find you all again. There won't be a problem with that, right?" she turned over, burying her head in her pillow. "Right?" she asked, muffled. 

"...you know I couldn't just leave you here..." the young man murmured, turning and walking back toward Rena. "If you want to stay, I'll stay here with you. I will protect you." he sat down on the bed and leaned over to give her a quick hug. "Do what you want to do. I'll stay with you whatever happens." 

"Ashton.." she moved back around, making it easier for him to embrace her. "I.." 

"Rena... listen to me. I know it's hard on you... and I won't force you if you don't want to. But if at all possible... I want you to think about the others. Dias is important, but Dias is Dias. The men shouldn't try and hurt him any further... and if you can find them, maybe you can find a way to cure Dias. So..." 

"..so you want me to go on with my search.." 

He moved her arms away from her face and looked her straight in the eyes. "...I want you to do what you think is right." 

She nodded slowly. "..yes.. to do what I think is right.. give me a little bit of time to think, Ashton." she nuzzled against him and returned the embrace. She watched the young man smile a little, trying to be encouraging, and couldn't help but tighten her arms around him. She leaned up, allowing him to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Ashton." 

~~~ 

After midnight, Rena got up, rubbing her eyes from sleep. She could hear Ashton's soft breathing from the bed next to her, and gave a sigh of relief. Standing slowly, she tiptoed to the window of the inn. The moon was shining brightly, leaving enough light for her to navigate, but not enough to be a nuisance for sleep. She eyed it silently for a while, then nodded once to herself. She could hear barely any noises spare for an occasional owl hoot outside and his breathing. Her heart was pounding though, and blocked out any other small noises. She turned away from the window, then slipped her hairpin out of her hair. She had kept it carelessly on her this day, even when she slept, for she had too many other things to worry about. She had also not bothered to change into her pajamas. This, for now, was at her advantage. She placed the hairpin down on the table, and then stepped quietly toward Ashton's sleeping figure. 

She opened her mouth, then shut it, blushing slightly. She had never taken the time to watch him when he slept, and she noted that people were right when they said one could look like an angel when sleeping. He shifted in his sleep, making her freeze in place, but didn't wake. Rena shook her head, trying to assemble her thoughts. She wasn't up to watch him sleep... she had something else on her mind. Even though she didn't wish to leave his side... 

She leaned over him, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "..Ashton.." she mouthed, "I'm sorry. ..please take care." she kissed him once, quickly, then pulled away, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "I love you." She brushed it aside and turned around. "You'll forgive me, won't you?" 

She glanced back once, then left the room, shutting it quietly after her. 


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5******

"I can't stay with them.. because if I do, they might be put into unneeded danger.. like Dias. I'll find the men myself. I need to know what they are planning on doing. If I'm alone.. they might come after me rather than Noel and Chisato. They must be looking for me.." Rena murmured under her breath, as she left the now darkened village of Mars. She would go to the port and find information on the men, or Noel and Chisato. Traveling alone would be easier, for there would be less supplies needed, and pacing would be simple as well. She was confident enough to be able to slip past monsters between towns as well. The young woman hurt inside though, knowing that she had left the others without prior notice... and she had even ended up leaving Dias and Ashton behind as well. She hoped that she wouldn't meet up with the latter for a while. He would probably not be happy with her... she knew that she would have hurt him by her leave, even though he was the one she wished not to hurt the most. At the same time, she knew that she would simply cause him more pain if she were with him... 

"..Ashton.." she shook her head. "I can't regret now.. it's too late. If I find Noel and Chisato quick enough, I'll be able to persuade him that I did what was best," at least, so she hoped. She started off in the direction of the port, heart pounding like crazy. She didn't want to get caught before she did anything of importance. 

~~~ 

Ashton awoke rather early in the morning, if he did say so himself. He got up slowly, careful as to make sure not to wake Rena up. He paused for a second though, noticing that some of her things were missing. He turned toward her bed, then widened his eyes. She wasn't there, but her hairpin was left. He stood, made his way to the bed and felt the sheets. They were cold.   
".......oh no." 

He barged into Celine's room, which made the woman get up in a fright and hide in her sheets. "What in the WORLD do you think you're doing, darling? Do you know what time it is?! It's still morning, and I need my beauty sleep--" 

"Rena's missing! I wanted to know if she said anything to you about leaving." he interrupted, holding up her hairpin. "She didn't leave any notice anywhere in her room, but most of her things are missing, except for this... you don't think she left without us, right...?" 

"Darling... did you check up in Dias' room?" 

"She's not there." 

"How long has she been gone?" 

"I don't know for sure, but probably a while... the bed was already cold." 

"...you must be kidding me..." Celine sat up, putting a hand on her head. "Darling, we don't have time to be sitting here! We have to find her. Let me get changed, and we'd better head for the port. I have a feeling she's headed that way, since the other way is the castle and Arlia. I doubt she would have returned home without any news about the men. Give Claude and Precis a call, tell them to be on the lookout for her!" 

The young man nodded, catching the cell phone when Celine threw it, and rushed back to his room to get changed as well and to   
make the call. 

The two joined up in the hallway, Celine fussing about how she hadn't had time to fix up her hair much, but saying she was too worried about the other woman to fool around with it longer. "This is mainly your fault, you know that, right, darling?" she complained, "She was in the same room as you, and you let her leave?!" 

"I was asleep," Ashton admitted, lowering his gaze, "I didn't hear her wake up." 

"You are an idiot." Celine shrugged. "Let's get going, darling. You told Claude and Precis about Rena darling right? They didn't have any other information when I spoke to them yesterday. Now we're in a bigger mess than before... oh this is just lovely, darling!" when she turned toward the young man, she found he had already started outside of the inn. "H--hey, wait a minute!! Are you even listening to me?" 

~~~ 

Rena sat down in the port tavern, burying her head in her hands. She hadn't found any information on anyone as of then, and she hadn't planned on staying the night there. The ship wasn't bound to Lacour until a few hours, and she could find no where else to rest. She ordered a glass of juice to occupy her as she waited. She had heard that the tavern would be a good place to find information, but even eavesdropping on the people around her didn't seem to help. She had only been there for a few minutes when a rather large man approached her. 

"Hey, honey, what are you doing here?" 

She simply gave him a side glance and shook her head, giving no reply. 

"Mind if I sit next to you?" he sat down, then scooted his chair closer to her. "Why are you hiding your face, sweetheart? Something bad happen to you? Boyfriend dump you or something?" 

She shook her head again. 

"Listen sweetheart, I'm not here to talk to your arms. Let me see your face." he reached over, grabbing one of her arms and pulling it away from her face. Before he could move the other one away, he found a knife pointed down toward his neck. 

"Get away from her." 

Rena felt the stranger's hand pull away and glanced up toward who had helped her. The large man stood slowly, shaking his fist toward the other man as he left. Her helper took a seat next to her, and waited while she blinked at him twice. 

"Razp..?" 

"Howdy, hon, been a while, eh? How've you been?" the young man cheerfully asked, putting his knife away. He waved his hand and gestured for the barman to pour him a drink. "I wasn't expecting you to go out traveling by yourself. I thought Ashton would be with you." 

"..I left him in Mars." 

"Dumped him already huh?" he leaned forward. "Poor guy." 

"May I ask why you know him?" 

Razp nodded slowly. "I met up with Ashton about a year and a half ago, when he was looking to uncurse himself. I thought that the two dragons on him were cool, but I guess he didn't. I told him that I knew how to uncurse him, and he told me to do so, so I did. He didn't even listen to my warning ahead of time. Well, afterwards, we traveled together a little, while he tried to gain his skills back... I assume he told you the rest of the story...? Aha, sorry that I didn't tell you the first time I saw you, but he said to keep it a secret, so..." 

"..so you were the mage that released him from his curse?" 

"You could say that." he raised his glass to his lips. "Your turn. What are you doing here alone?" 

Rena watched him silently for a while, then said, "I didn't want to cause anyone else trouble so I came out here alone. I'm looking for two of my old friends, because I have to warn them about something." 

"About...?" 

She pointed at her ears. "See these.. they prove that I'm not from around here. I'm actually from a planet called Nede, which was destroyed three years ago. There were only three survivors from Nede, and right now there seems to be someone after the remaining three Nedians on the planet." she smiled unhumoredly, "I know it sounds weird, but it's true." 

"...well that must be hard on you." he leaned over and patted her on the back. "You sure you can make it anywhere without Ashton's help though?" 

"I'm stronger than I look." she pouted. "Why are you here anyway? And why did you think to save me from that other man?" 

"I'm here because I travel, remember? And about why I saved you, is because I don't want anyone else running around calling you sweetheart, okay?" 

Rena blushed slightly, then crossed her arms. "If you see Ashton.. don't tell him that you've talked to me. It's about time for the ship to dock. I'm heading to Lacour." 

"I don't know about that. You're probably worrying him a ton, aren't you." 

"..I don't want to hurt him any further. Please, don't tell him." 

Razp shrugged. "I'll think about it. Go onto your ship. I ain't stopping you." 

The young woman gave a quick nod of the head and rushed off, leaving the man sitting alone at the bar. He stood up, smiling slightly to himself. "Lacour... huh. This will be interesting." 

~~~ 

Rena stepped off of the boat, putting a hand to her forehead. The trip had taken a little longer than she had expected, but it was either taking this ship or waiting another day, which she couldn't afford. She glanced quickly from side to side, looking for any familiar faces, but finding none. Taking a deep breath, she started outside of the port, making sure not to step off of the road. She didn't wish to find random monsters which would delay her further. She walked far enough to be between the port and the next town, when she saw it growing dark, and felt herself getting tired. She knew it wouldn't be smart, but headed toward the forest, to look for a place to rest. 

"Hey! Hey!!" 

She turned, hearing a familiar voice, but seeing no one. She followed the direction of where she had thought she heard it, then ended up at a shabby shack in the forest. She eyed the area cautiously, then found that there was no one home. Or rather, that the place seemed unoccupied from the start. It must have been an old hideout that was forgotten about. It was getting darker, and she knew that she would rather stay inside in case the weather changed in the morning. 

"Hello?" she attempted. There was no reply. The light in the shack seemed to still work when she flipped it on, but it was faint and barely existent. She knew she could make do with it for the moment. The young woman sighed, taking a seat next to the light. The shack was empty spare for the small light, and it smelled of rotting wood. It seemed fairly clean considering though, and she felt safe enough. She wished that she had brought a flashlight. Pulling out a piece of paper from her purse, she settled down to write in her journal. 

~~~ 

Rena awoke the next morning, without noting that she had fallen asleep. Her journal paper was laid out in front of her, half finished, and her pencil had found its way to the center of the room. She got up slowly, and gathered her supplies, getting ready to depart again, when she heard the same familiar voice. 

"Hey! Hey!!" 

She whirled around, then found no one. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. It must have been her imagination. She hadn't heard anyone... 

"Rena." 

She pursed her lips together and started outside, going around the shack a full time once, trying to find out who it was. Again, she found no one. She rubbed her eyes. "Who are you?" she ventured to call out. 

"Rena, don't tell me you've forgotten me already." it was a young woman's voice. She could recognize it any day, but she couldn't see anyone. 

"Mother? Mother, where are you?" Rena paused. ::This can't be.. my mother was..:: 

"Over here, honey." 

The young woman warily started toward the direction of the voice. Sure enough, when she had walked a few steps, she could see her mother standing in the middle of two bushes, a smile on her face. The Nedian rubbed her eyes. "Mother? What are you doing here? ..did I.. die?" 

"No, what are you talking about? I came back to visit you. Just like Cecille did to Dias." 

Rena stepped back, her eyes instantly narrowing. "..no, you're not my mother. What did you do to Dias?!" 

Westa frowned, her arms crossing. "Rena dear, don't you recognize your own mother?" 

"What did you do to Dias?" she repeated. 

"... I guess I cannot fool you." Westa's image faded slowly into one of a young man, with short blue hair. He stood about a head and a half taller than her. She stepped back once more. "Dias is having a peaceful sleep. Didn't you see how calm he looked? He's happy as is. It's better in the dream world for him rather than his normal world. Think about it, he is back with his family. You should be happy for him." 

"Help him back to normal!" she looked up so she could eye him in the face. "What you're doing is wrong! Why are you--" 

"I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just giving him the happiness that he wanted. I can help you achieve happiness as well. You can join him in his dream world..." 

"No." 

"He has no reason to live. Everything important to him was taken from him years back. He has no one left for him. Therefore, he'll stay like that until he finally passes away and can truly achieve his happiness." 

"No..!" 

"Tell me then. What does he have left in this world now?" the man smiled slowly, mockingly. She took a deep breath. 

"He still has me left. He also has new friends. He won't lose to his imagination!" Rena jumped back, raising her arm, then calling out, "_Press_!" 

The man leapt out of the way of the spell, then shook his head slowly. "You're too innocent, now, aren't you!" 

He unsheathed a sword, larger than the others that Rena had seen before. She stepped back, and fell undaintily down onto the floor. "You see this?" he said, flipping it over and into his other hand, "This is a sword you wouldn't see anyplace else. It is from Nede." 

"Nede..!" 

"It has the power to shatter anything into pieces. Do you understand?" he easily waved it to the side, causing the tree next to him to break apart into billions of small pieces of pebbles. Rena gasped. "I can do the same with people as well. Would you like me to test it?" He stepped a few steps toward her. She froze in place, her eyes going from the sword to the stranger and then back. "I apologize," he said slowly, raising his sword and plunging it once into the ground in front of her. A large gap formed in the dirt, flinging pieces of pebbles everywhere. "I have been rude not to introduce myself. I guess you should at least know who will be freeing your soul from dirty Expel, eh? I am Mizt. A fellow Nedian of yours." 

"Nedian..! How did you.." 

"I've no need to answer silly questions. You can question me all you like if you can defeat me. But that is... after you escape my blade!" 

The man raised his sword up high, and thrust down. Rena's eyes closed automatically and she opened her mouth to scream, when she heard someone call out: 

"STOP THAT!" 

The young woman felt someone grab a hold of her and spin away from the blade, which ended up solidly back into the ground. Another spray of pebbles showered over her and she cringed, opening her eyes. Celine stood a few feet away from her, eyes narrowed and glowering toward Mizt, and Ashton squeezed her gently, glancing back toward the other man as he asked, "Are you alright?" 

"..Ashton.. Celine.. what are you two--" 

"No time for questions, darling," Celine said, putting her hands together to cast a spell. Before she could finish, she found the sword slashing the air in front of her and stepped back a few feet. She moved her arms up to shield her face from the spray of pebbles. 

"She's right," Mizt grunted, whirling back around with the sword. "There's no time for this...!" 

The next thing Rena knew, the sword was heading back toward her, and Ashton spun her around so that he would take the impact of the blow. Her mouth opened in shock as she saw the sword slice into the man's body, and his eyes widen. 

"Re...na..." he managed to say before he was broken into pieces in front of her face. 


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6******

"NO!" Rena sat up, wiping her forehead with her hand. "..a nightmare..?" she dropped back down onto the bed, whimpering softly. She heard the bed next to her shift and glanced toward it. Ashton was watching her, a concerned look on his face. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I had a nightmare." she said simply. 

"About...?" 

She shook her head, sighing. "Nothing really. I have a feeling if I talk about it, it might actually happen. I think I'll just try and forget about it." 

He got out of his bed and moved to hers, putting a hand on her head. "Well, if you say so. You shouldn't worry about nightmares..." 

"Yes.. there are many more important things to worry about, aren't there.." 

"...there are? Like what?" 

Rena paused, eying him in the face. "Ashton? You know.. like looking for Noel and Chisato." 

"What are you talking about? Are you sure that you're okay? You must be confusing reality with your dreams." he took a seat on her bed, leaning over to give her a hug. "Why are we looking for Noel and Chisato?" 

"Y--you know.. the men who attacked Arlia.. we have to.. find Noel and.." her eyes scanned the room. "Wait.. is this.. Arlia!?" 

"Of course it is, Rena." the young man said patiently. "You seem a little pale..." 

"Why am I in Arlia.." 

"What are you talking about? Rena... Rena... please. Explain." 

"Didn't Arlia get attacked?" 

"Not that I know of." 

"But.. but.." a small tear appeared in the corner of her eye. "I don't.. understand. What is today? What is going on?" she moved her hand to his back. "You don't have your dragons. When did you come here? What is.." 

"Rena, try to remember. You must be stressed out. I came back to Arlia yesterday, remember? I... told you that I returned because I loved you. ...Rena..." he leaned forward, moving her face toward him. "Don't you... remember?" 

"..I don't understand.." 

He pulled her up and into his arms. "Rena! Wake up, please. What do you mean you don't understand? W...hy?" he leaned down and nuzzled her shoulder, then glanced up again, a hurt expression on his face. "Rena... you're not kidding, are you..." 

"..Ashton.. why.." she returned the embrace, beginning to cry. "Why don't I remember?!" 

The young man tilted her face back up, moving down to place his lips on hers. She let him, holding him tighter. "Rena..." he pushed her gently back down on the bed, blushing. "You'll remember... eventually... so..." 

Her eyes widened as he slid his hand into her shirt and down from her shoulder to her arm. "...let me stay with you tonight..." 

~~~ 

"Rena!! Rena darling!! Snap out of it!!" Celine called out, her eyes widened. She stepped back, eying Mizt in shock. "What did you do to her!?" 

Rena sat silently, holding onto Ashton's limp and bloody body. Her eyes were blank, and Celine could tell she was murmuring things that she couldn't hear. "Rena darling! ...Ashton! ...you're not dead now are you? Do something about Rena darling! OoohhH! How dare you leave this all up to me!" she narrowed her eyes. "You do understand how unfair you are being, correct, darling?" 

Mizt simply smiled, without emotion. "I just sent both of them into a dream state. They'll be fine. Though I doubt that either would be waking up soon." he brandished his sword. "Next will be you." 

"Not so fast," Celine said, raising her arm and chanting, "Burn to death! _Explode_!" She watched the spell envelope him in flame, and was shocked to find him standing in the middle of it, unscathed. "_Wind Blade_! _Thunderbolt_! _Starlight_!" 

Mizt shrugged the spells off easily, not bothering even to move aside. "It's no use, Miss magic user. I'm protected by any magic spells from anyone. I'm invincible now! You cannot defeat me." 

"Take this," Celine cried out, "Oh come shooting stars!! _Meteor Swarm_!" She stood silently, knowing that if this spell didn't work, she would be in major trouble. When the spell faded, she eyed the area that he had been standing in, ready to flee if need be. He was nowhere to be found. "Did I... do it?" she glanced around once more, then scratched her head. "Well... that wasn't too bad..." 

"Or not." 

She spun around, hearing his voice, but it was already too late. The sword plunged straight through her stomach, and she flew backwards into a large tree. Sinking down, she placed a hand on the wound, wincing as she saw the blood stain enlarge on her clothes. "...you'll pay for that..." the woman stood up, using the tree for support. 

"Why do you bother to stand again? I may have left you be if you don't bother to fight." 

"...do you think I'm just going to leave my friends here like this? I need to get rid of you and help them out..." she managed to say before she found herself spitting out blood. She put a hand over her mouth, then wiped the blood away. "I'm not planning on ending my life here. That's your role!" 

"I like you." he said slowly, raising his eyebrow. "Risking your life for a friend, hm? Very noble." 

"Why don't you shut that mouth of yours?! ..._southern cross_!" The light spell fell upon him, but did no damage. She cringed and dropped down to one knee. "You are impossible, darling," she said. 

"I take that as a compliment." Mizt took his time to walk to her, using the edge of his sword to knock her down onto the floor. He kicked her once, then crossed his arms. 

"This is no way to treat a woman, don't you know?" she demanded, trying to stand back up. He kicked her back down. 

"You're interesting, but I've had enough of you. Say goodnight, woman." he raised his sword, but before he could push it back down, he could feel a sword edge pointing toward his back. Celine's eyes widened and she backed away as much as she could manage. "What...you...!?" Mizt hissed, glancing back, "You should have been..." 

"You overestimate your power." Dias spoke, pulling his weapon away as the other man dropped his. "You can't control more than two people at a time, can you. At least, not with any decency. Did you think that a simple dream would be keeping me from battle?" 

Mizt grabbed his sword from the ground, spinning back around toward Dias. Dias had already anticipated the attack, and his sword plunged into the other man's heart. Mizt's eyes widened, and he dropped to the floor, sinking down as Dias pulled the sword back out. "...no... not here," the man grunted, "I can't...die here..." he lifted an arm, grappling for his weapon, but unable to find it. 

His eyes slowly closed and he fell forward. Dias eyed the other man's figure for a while, then slammed his sword back into Mizt.   
"I might have forgiven you for what you did to me, but I see that you hurt Rena as well. You can regret about that in the afterlife, scum!" Dias glanced toward Celine, then added, "Are you okay?" 

"I--I'm fine, thank you," Celine managed to say, "But I can't believe what he did to my clothes. Blood stains are hard to get out, you know!" she eyed the dead man carefully. "What was he wearing in order to survive my magic anyway? Reflective armor?" 

Dias had already left her and was eying Rena's state. Although Mizt had been eliminated, she seemed to be in the same state they had left her. He moved Ashton aside and eyed her closely. "Rena darling," Celine called out, making her way toward the young woman, a hand on her wound. "Wake up, darling." she leaned forward, seeing Rena's mouth move slowly. "What?" 

"..I don't understand.. Ashton.. no.. please.. stop." 

"Rena darling. Can you hear me? Ashton darling is dead. ...or at least he WILL be if you don't hurry and wake up! Rena darling?! Hello~!" Celine's eyes turned toward Dias, shrugging. "What do we do?" she moved toward Ashton. "He's bleeding badly... and she doesn't look like she'll snap out of it anytime soon." 

Dias silently tossed her a few bandages, and she set out trying to wrap them around Ashton's wound first, to try to stop the bleeding, then around herself. She leaned back against the tree, trying to catch some rest. Her body was overly weak, with lack of blood. She knew that she hadn't been hurt half as much as Ashton though, and watched Dias eye Rena for a while. The swordsman sighed, picking Rena up and shaking her once. When he got no reply, he dropped her back down. 

"...Rena." 

Celine sighed. "This is hopeless. Darling..." she turned to Ashton, "Hang in there. Rena will snap out of it soon enough... I hope." She turned back around just in time to see Dias raise his hand and slap Rena across the cheek. She widened her eyes and struggled to stand. "What in the WORLD are you doing, darling!? Rena darling won't--" she paused as she watched the young woman's eyes water slowly. Her eyes were slowly fading back to its normal shade. "--huh?" 

Rena's hand went up to her cheek as she glanced around. "What.. is going on.." She gasped and scrambled to her feet, seeing Dias standing in front of her, with a horridly serious expression on his face. "Dias?! You're okay? Oh.. what about Ashton!?" she turned toward Celine, then gave another gasp. "Celine!! You're covered in blood!" 

"Darling, don't worry about me, worry about Ashton darling," Celine said, gesturing to him. She pulled him up to her and gestured at the large wound on his back. "Hurry and take care of him or else he might be in trouble. We'll answer questions after that, okay?" 

The young Nedian nodded and stepped toward Ashton, placing both hands on his back and shutting her eyes. She channeled her energy into him, up until she was out of breath. The wound faded, but he made no attempt to move. Celine flipped him over, with a little trouble. "He's still breathing, darling. He's probably just tired. He's lost a lot of blood." her eyes narrowed. "I think it might be better if you try a little more though. We don't want to lose him." 

"But Celine, you need to be healed too." Rena said, but the other woman shook her head. 

"Ashton darling comes first." 

"..Celine.." 

"Just hurry will you? This does hurt an awful lot..." 

~~~ 

A few moments later, Celine was back to complaining about how she was to get the blood stains out of her clothes. Dias had left to investigate around the area, while Rena was crying on Ashton, who awoke fairly confused. "Rena?" he managed to question before he found her back in his arms, saying something about how she had thought she had lost him. He looked toward Celine, who took her time to stop complaining and flash him a quick smile and wink. He wrapped an arm around Rena, and sighed in content. "I'm glad you're okay though, Rena." 

"Not as much as I'm glad that you are," the young woman responded immediately, looking up toward him with watery eyes. "Ashton.. I'm sorry for leaving you without telling. I really am..!" 

"We'll worry about that later... we have other things to worry about now..." 

She buried her head in his chest and he sighed again, shrugging. 

"Darlings, it's no time to be lovey dovey, there's someone coming this way!" Celine said, examining the distance. She raised an arm and narrowed her eyes, ready to cast a spell if need be. 

"Wait one minute!" a voice called out, and Rena and Ashton both exchanged glances. "It's just me!" 

"Well, Mr. 'Me' sounds very suspicious," Celine countered, sending a firebolt toward the stranger before either of the other two could stop her. 

Razp leapt out of the way of the spell, cursing when it caused the bush behind him to light on fire. He ran over to Ashton and Rena, scratching his head. "What's up with her? Talk about beautiful roses having thorns..." 

"Would you two..." Celine crossed her arms, "...care to explain who this is?" 

"I'm Razp," the man said instantly. "A friend of Ashton and Rena's. Or something like that." he looked around. "Well, it seems that all of you are safe. I hear that Dias is well too. I'm glad. You were able to see through Mizt's dream state. Hrrmph, he must have been nothing." 

"Why do you know about all of this?" 

"I have my ways." Razp shrugged and stepped toward Rena, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, I guess there was no need to tell Ashton where you were in the first place, was there? I'm glad that you've made it this far safely. I don't know how much further you'll get, though." 

Rena turned toward the man, a question mark appearing over her head. "What do you mean by that? ..wait, why are you here in the first place?" 

"Get away from her!" the group turned to see Dias make his way toward them, his face pale. He had his sword out in front of him. "Rena, stay back!" 

"Dias? What are you talking about? This is Razp.. someone I know from a few days back.." Rena started. Dias went forward and swung toward Razp, who immediately ducked and appeared behind the swordsman. The young woman gasped. "What.." 

"Rena..." Dias hissed, "This is the mage I said escaped me before!" 

Rena's eyes widened. "..no way.." 


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7******

Razp sighed, stepping aside and giving her a grin. "Well, there you go. Now that that's been told, I guess there's no need for me to be nice to you all anymore." he reached down toward the sword that Mizt had dropped previously, and flipped it lightly into his hands. "I've no need for any of you except the Nedian! Leave unless you want to get hurt!" 

"Darlings, what part of him is your friend!?" Celine demanded, stepping back and raising her hand. "_Thunderbolt_!" she watched in disbelief as the spell did no damage to him. 

Razp shrugged easily. "I forgot to mention, beautiful, but I was the one who helped Mizt with his magic shield. It won't be easy for you to penetrate mine either. You don't know how long I've waited for this... though I haven't found the other Nedians, as long as I have one, it will work fine." he smiled slowly. 

"Why do you want Nedians? Because some of them can heal?" Rena asked, stepping back. Ashton wrapped his arm around her protectively, his free hand going to one of his swords. 

"Oh, no no." Razp said, the smile turning into a smirk. "Not that at all. There's such a lack of Nedians in Expel. I wanted to change that." he began gathering his hair into a short ponytail behind him. "The Nedian race cannot simply die out here..." The others watched in shock as he brushed his hair aside. Long, pointy ears were uncovered in the process. He winked. "I think you all understand now. As long as there are still a few Nedians around, there are chances of the race living on..." 

"You are sick." Celine cried out. "You're not thinking that you can make a whole generation of Nedians on your own?!" 

"I have knowledge from Nede. If there was to be a Nedian child, I could create experiments to create more... much more... enough to start a Nedian population in Expel! ...though none of you would understand the significance of this, would you." 

"Enough." Dias stated, raising his sword again. "Get out of here." 

"I'll be taking the Nedian before I leave." Razp said, eying Rena as he spoke. 

"Wait..." Ashton started, "Why did you follow me?! Didn't we travel together for a while?!" 

"A--and if you wanted to take me, why didn't you do so when you came to my house in the first place?!" Rena added in. 

Razp's gaze went to Dias' sword. "Ashton, you were too nice, at least for a man. You trusted me though you didn't know me. You told me to get rid of your curse. I could have easily done it without the drawback of your losing your skills. You let me go with you while you trained. I knew that you were looking for a cure before you even knew me. I knew that you were in Arlia with Rena before so. I wanted to get to know her, not to force her to go with me, but now that I know that your relationship with her would get in the way... I'm sorry but I can't continue my charade longer." He vanished, then reappeared next to Rena, putting his sword on her neck and turning to Ashton. "Move it." 

Ashton paled, stepping back instantly. Rena froze and Celine bit her lip, knowing her spells would do no good yet again. Dias narrowed his eyes, then stepped forward. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Razp demanded, putting the sword closer to her. "Move one step closer and--" 

"And what?" Dias said, with a smirk. "You move that sword even more, and you'll lose your precious Nedian." 

The two men glowered at each other for a while, and finally Razp stepped away. "True. That's something I can't afford. I mean, she'll be the one who would start the new population of Nedians here on Expel anyway." 

"Like any of us would let you take her and do anything to her," Celine said, putting her hands on her hips. "Why don't you just leave us alone? You're way too outnumbered." 

"I don't need help, because I have skill." he countered. "Ashton is helpless against me. I know every single one of his tricks, for I've seen him train." 

Ashton's eyes narrowed, and he flipped both of his swords out. "I don't know about that one..." 

"Celine 'darling,' I shan't have problems with your magic." Razp continued. "So in short, I'm not very outnumbered, am I." 

Rena stepped forward slightly, keeping a hand clutching Ashton's cloak. "If you want to take me, you'd better fight against me." 

"You don't understand, do you, Rena. If I do that, I might hurt you, and that would ruin my point." Razp watched her eyes flicker in understanding, and shook his head. "Though, I won't let you get in my way while I dispose of the others. Stay there!" 

The young woman blinked and glanced around, then blinked again. "..w--wh.. I can't move..!?" 

"Unlike other Nedians who have the ability to heal, the majority of spells I have have to do with offensive magic." Razp explained, flipping over to avoid Dias' sword as the man lashed toward him. "Don't think that I'm bad at combat as well though. I hate to be underestimated." he smiled, landing in between Dias and Ashton. "Well well. Who wants to die first?" 

Ashton narrowed his eyes and leapt forward, lifting one of his swords and lashing out with the other from behind. Razp stopped the weapons with his gold knuckles, a black mist covering them for added strength. Dias attempted an attack from behind, which he ducked and sent toward Ashton, who narrowly escaped as well. "_Tractor beam_!" he called out, jumping out of the way of the spell. The two fighters rolled away from the beam, and Dias got quickly back up, calling out, "Air slash!" 

The attack stopped a few feet from Razp, who shrugged. "Close... not close enough." 

Ashton went behind and raised both of his swords toward the man's neck, but paused mid-swing when he found he was face to face with Rena. The mage snapped his fingers, sending Rena back in her old place, and kicked Ashton aside. "Too weak. I was hoping you learned something while I was gone, but I guess not." 

Rena bit her lip, watching the two fighters against the experienced mage. He even had more advanced armor, being that he had lived in Nede for the bulk of his life. It seemed almost as though the mage was playing around with the other two. He had barely countered, and rather was having fun dodging their attacks. She attempted to move, but it was almost as though she was glued in place. She narrowed her eyes, knowing all she could do from this position was cast magic, most which would be worthless then. She thought for a while as she watched the three men fight, and Celine approached her. "Darling, I know that I'm rather useless against this man, but remember that none of us will let you get taken away by this man." she wrapped her arms around her friend, then picked her up with effort. "Darling, you'd better be in a safer place--" 

"Not so fast!" 

Celine turned in time to see a sword blade inches from her face. She gasped, then ducked around and away. Razp pushed Ashton aside, who had barely managed to save Celine from a grand beating to the head. The woman raised her arms and chanted quickly, "Oh power of protection... _Reflection_!", enveloping the others in a semi-shield of magic. "Rena darling, see if you can do anything to that spell of yours," she called out, "Maybe you can dispel it!" 

Rena attempted a nod, which didn't work quite as expected, then shut her eyes. "Disappear you impure people! _Dispel_!" 

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no difference to her movement. She shut her eyes again, then called out, "Oh time! _Haste_!" 

The two spells triggered the effect she was waiting for. Dias sent another air slash from his spot far from the group, as he attempted to gain distance as Rena leapt away from her spot and jumped in front of Ashton. The fighter stepped back. "Rena, what are you planning on doing?" 

"I've had enough!" the young woman said, raising her fist at Razp. "You want me because I'm a Nedian, don't you? Then, I'm the reason you're attacking everyone else. Everyone else has already gotten hurt enough! Leave us alone. Or else." she turned around, grabbing a hold of Ashton's arm. He blinked in confusion, but made no attempt to move his arm away. "Let me borrow one of your swords, Ashton," she said, looking him straight into the eyes. 

"I've no time for small talk!" Razp called, "_Ice Needle_!!" 

Celine rushed over to Rena and Ashton, going in front of them and calling out, "_Firebolt_!" The spells combined with each other and faded away. "Darling, listen to what she has to say. I may not be able to attack you, but I can make sure that you can't attack us!" 

Rena had acquired one of the swords by then, and was raising it over her heart. "You come anywhere closer," she said slowly, "And it's all over." 

"Rena!" all three of her friends called out at once. Razp narrowed his eyes, at the same time lowering his arm. 

"What are you talking about, darling?" Celine attempted, "We'll be fine, don't worry about us, we can get rid of this man without you doing anything drastic!" 

"She's right, Rena..." Ashton said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Give me back the sword." 

"Rena," Dias said, after a pause, "...we will protect you." 

Rena's eyes went around to all of the other three members of the group, and she smiled. "Thanks everyone." she moved her hand back to return the sword, then narrowed her eyes, "Celine!" 

The female mage nodded and turned, calling out, "_Lunar Light_!" 

"_Star Flare_!" Rena finished up. 

Razp stepped back, giving a quick roll of the eyes. "I've said that this spells are worthless against me. You never lear--" 

"Burning Cards!" a voice called out from afar, and he turned, right in time to find small sharp pieces of paper digging into his back. 

"What..." he pulled out a few, cursing. He was visibly bleeding, but seemed more irritated than injured. 

"Wait, that voice..." Ashton started, then shut his mouth as Chisato appeared from the trees, panting. 

"Perfect!" Celine said, snapping her fingers and grinning slightly, and noting that so called cell-phones could actually come in handy at certain times. 

"We made it on time! I thought I would be too late to make the scoop!" she called out, extending her arm to the side. Claude and Noel similarly appeared from the brush. "We heard from Claude and Precis that you guys were in trouble, so we tried to hurry." 

Noel scratched his head, looking at the others. "Well... I guess we came at an okay time." 

"Aha! Now you're definitely outnumbered, darling!" Celine said triumphantly. She stepped to the side, raising her arms and standing in front of Rena. Rena exchanged quick glances with Ashton. 

"I think I can understand that you want more Nedians on the planet, figuring that Nede has disappeared," the young woman said slowly, "But you shouldn't do that if no one else wants it to happen. Razp.. you seemed like a nice person to me.. why did you have to change like that?" 

"Now you're going to lecture me?" Razp asked, crossing his arms and eying his opponents. He was completely surrounded and even he knew he was at a disadvantage. He began to chant, but Noel immediately called out, "_Energy Arrow_!" which failed to hurt Razp, but was enough to make him lose his concentration. 

"You shouldn't be set on Nedians alone.. It matters more about a person's character rather than his or her's planet, doesn't it? I mean.. I'm a Nedian, but I've found plenty of friends from Expel and even Earth!" 

"Oh great, so now it's a 'let's all be happy together' speech." 

"I don't mean it like that. I mean that you might be a decent person on the inside, if you would just go outside of your boundaries." Rena sweatdropped, "And if you don't.." 

Dias and Claude both stepped forward, raising their swords. 

"I don't think they're going to be happy about it.." 


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue****__**

_--we finally were able to gather once more, as a whole group: Claude, Precis, Celine, Chisato, Noel, Ashton, and I. Well, we were still missing Leon, who Precis told me was busy working on his newest creation which would better the world (I wonder what it would be this time.), Bowman, Ernest and Opera, but no one had heard from the latter two since we parted after the battle of the Ten Wise Men. Chisato said something of that she would take Razp with her to travel with Noel and herself. Actually, at the start, I had thought to let Razp stay with us at Arlia, but it seemed that both Ashton and Dias were against that idea..___

_Perhaps Razp will finally understand that Expel isn't such a bad place as well. I think I might have understood his feelings more so if I had also been living on Nede for a long time. Still, I do remember some places of it.. and it's saddening to remember that my home planet was eliminated.. but it was for the good of everyone else, and I have plenty of good memories of Expel as well.___

_Everyone in Arlia is helping me cope with my mother's death.. even though we weren't of blood relations, we still were very close. As I've said once before, she is the only mother to me. Although many people are still sad about my mother's death, they seem to be glad that Dias is back. I wonder if he will plan to stay any longer this time. Along with that, the children are extra happy about Ashton's return as well.. he's always been popular with them. Then again, there's no one as glad about his return than me.. the more I stay with him, the more I've grown to enjoy his company. ..I wonder if he feels the same about me..___

_Tonight will be the last day our group will gather again. Claude and Precis are going back to Earth, and Celine is going to the Cross Castle, saying she had some business there with a friend of hers. Obviously, Chisato would never stay in the same place for a long time, and poor Noel has always been dragged along with her. Even though he seems to be reluctant most of the time, I think that he really enjoys his time with her. I wonder how much longer it will take for them to settle down? On the other hand, Ashton and I--_

"What are you doing, Rena?" 

Rena jumped, dropping her pen as she turned to spot Ashton in the doorway of her room. "Who?! Me?" 

He raised an eyebrow. "Journal writing again?" 

The young woman blushed, shutting the book and diverting her eyes. "Mm-hm. I have a lot to record now." 

"I can't blame you." he took a seat on her bed, his eyes going to the picture frame set up on her table. She hadn't changed it from the picture of her family, and he couldn't help but feel bad for her. Now both of her parents were gone, somewhat like his. He had never thought to speak about his family to anyone else. 

"..aren't you going to talk to everyone else? They're going to leave tomorrow.." 

"I just came to check up on you, that's all." he sent her a quick smile. "And to remind you that you should go to sleep early tonight. You've had quite a busy time, and you've used so much magic as well. You must be tired. Celine's already gone to bed." 

Rena shrugged. "Thank you, Ashton, but I think I would like to finish this entry before I sleep." 

"Should I leave you alone?" 

She hesitated, then turned from the table and toward him. "..I can wait to write my entry." 

Ashton gave her another quick smile. "I won't keep you too long then." he waited for her to take a seat next to him, and watched her silently for a few minutes. She put her head down on his shoulder. 

"A lot has happened since you came back," she said softly, "But now it seems everything will be peaceful again. I'm glad." she pulled away and looked him in the face. "You're not planning on leaving again, are you?" 

"I don't have any reason to leave anymore," he replied with a shrug, "All that's important to me is in this village now." 

This remark set a smile on her face. "I'm glad." she repeated. "Um, Ashton, could we go to the Salva Drift sometime?" 

"Huh? Sure. Um... why?" 

"I think we should say hi to Gyoro and Ururun." Rena responded, giving the young man a hug. "Don't you?" 

"...I guess that's right." he fidgeted a little, which made her pout slightly. 

"You don't want to?" 

"No, that's not it. I just have something to say to you, and I don't know when the right time to say it is," he blurted out, then scratched his head sheepishly. "Um..." 

"You have something to say to me?" she examined his face enough to make him blush. "What is it?" 

"This might be a little early for you, but..." 

"But?" 

Ashton took a deep breath, then stood up, turning back so he could face her. "Rena..." 

She watched in confusion as he went down on one knee. 

"...wi--will..." 

"..will?" she echoed, still not understanding. 

"Will you marry me?" 

Rena's ears perked up, and a smile slowly made its way to her face. "..oh Ashton..!" she leapt up and embraced him tightly. "Of course!" 

>>FIN   
Author's Note: Yeah, choppy ending, but I didn't want to include much more (= year-long conversation) and make it overly sappy because then..well it'd be about 2,000 chapters longer. ^.^; Yeah..those who know me would know that much. 


End file.
